St. Andrews council considers heritage bylaw

The Town of St. Andrews took steps on Monday night to get heritage protection in place for its historic properties.

Town council gave first reading to a draft heritage conservation bylaw that's intended to maintain and enhance more than 300 century-old buildings.

Many residents were surprised to learn the seaside community had no heritage bylaws in place, said Lee Sochasky, a town councillor and member of the local heritage board.

"St. Andrews residents have always taken pride in their heritage buildings, and it's been this pride and luck that have maintained the town's historic character to date," Sochasky said Tuesday in an interview on Information Morning Saint John.

The bylaw has been 40 years in the making. The need for heritage rules was first raised in the 1970s, triggered by the demolition of a prominent historic building. But it turned out to be a divisive idea, and sat dormant until a few years ago.

We have no intention that we're going to be a museum, but we do take pride in our character.- Lee Sochasky, St. Andrews town councillor

"It's been more or less a gradual change in attitude, a realization that we're continuing to lose our heritage buildings and see the gradual loss of our streetscape and water views, people realized that overall, it seemed to be a good move," said Sochasky.

"We have no intention that we're going to be a museum, but we do take pride in our character. We want to maintain that alongside new development."

Proposed bylaw 'flexible'

A long-term heritage strategy was drafted for the town in 2014 that included recommendations on how the town should conserve heritage buildings, tree-lined streetscapes and water access.

The heritage planning committee also held public sessions and conducted a town-wide survey about the future of the town's heritage buildings.

Its report found 90 per cent of property owners were in favour of preserving heritage and adopting a bylaw.

The draft rules focus on maintaining the historic character of St. Andrews, mainly by conserving building exteriors and placing conditions on the appearance of new developments so as not to detract from the features of the area.

The proposed bylaw is flexible, and only looks at exteriors that the public sees, Sochasky said.

"If you want to put in a big porch off the back, that's fine. It doesn't require the use of traditional materials, or doesn't tell you what colour to paint your house," she said.

"It's really the visual character. So that leaves a lot of flexibility."

Community consultations will continue now that first reading has taken place. The heritage board will be contacting owners of all heritage properties recognized in the proposed bylaw, and holding a new round of public information sessions.

The town hopes to have final readings on the bylaw by the fall.

St. Andrew's was founded in 1783 by Loyalists. The proposed bylaw recognizes 296 of the over 340 heritage properties identified within the town.